México, Guanajuato, Celaya—Registros Parroquiales, 1786–1941

General Instructions

Diacritics and Other Characters

If the name of a person or locality is written with a character not on your keyboard, such as the accented é in José, please insert the character by clicking on the Enter special international characters icon (which is a square with an "ñ" in it) and selecting the character you want to insert, or:

On the menu bar, click Edit.

Click International Letters.

Click on the letter you want to insert.

Corrected or Crossed-Out Information

When information is crossed out and then replaced, type the new data in the appropriate fields.

When the information is crossed out, is not replaced, and can be read, type the crossed-out information.

When information is not crossed out but is replaced or has been added to, type the most complete version of the record.

When the information is crossed out, is not replaced, and cannot be read, mark the field as unreadable by pressing Ctrl+U.

When no entry on a record can be read, mark the entire record as unreadable by pressing Ctrl+Shift+U.

Unknown

For a required field (a field that shows "<Required>" in the entry area): If a record does not include information for a field or if the information is given using a description such as "unknown" or "don't know," press Ctrl+B to mark the field as blank. Do not type the word "blank" in the indexing field.

For a field that is not required: If a record does not include information for a field or if the information is given using a description such as "unknown" or "don't know," press Tab to skip the field.

Unnecessary Punctuation

Do not type periods, commas, parentheses, or semicolons after initials or abbreviations or between multiple levels of localities for any of the fields.

Ditto Marks

You may find ditto marks or similar signs of repetition. If a record includes any of these signs, type the information from the previous record or field.

Lookup Lists

A lookup list is a list of names, places, or terms that you can use to help decipher the information for a specific field. All fields with a lookup list will have a down arrow at the right side of the field when you have selected the field for data entry.

Click the down arrow.

Select Lookup....

The lookup lists do not include every possible entry. If the clerk wrote something that is not in the list, type what was written on the record.

Red Wavy Line

The red wavy line or colored background in a field does not necessarily mean that you made a mistake. It appears because the word you typed is not in the lookup list. This is OK. Double-check what you entered. When you are sure the information is correct, continue with the next entry field.